Search for Virginia man presumed to have drowned in Delaware River to start again

The search for a 30-year-old Virginia man missing and presumed drowned in the Delaware River during a tubing excursion with friends is set to resume this weekend.

The recovery is being coordinated by Point Pleasant (Pa.) Fire Company. Chief Scott Fleischer late this afternoon said that some volunteers will spread out on boats tomorrow to search the riverbanks and islands between Bucks and Hunterdon counties.

Anthony Del Prete of Herndon, Va., disappeared as his group of 10 was preparing to leave the rain-swollen Delaware on Saturday, Aug. 10. Del Prete had played baseball for the University of Oregon and was on the river with former teammates of a Philadelphia softball team.

He had lived for 15 years near lakes in Oregon and was a strong swimmer, his mother said. She said that he worked for the Department of the Interior and was intelligent and hard-working.

His family wants to work with people here who are proposing a flag-warning system on the Delaware River, hoping to prevent further tragedies. This year has been a particularly difficult one on the wild and scenic river — four people have drowned and the search continues for Del Prete and a 20-year-old Clifton man who disappeared three days later north of this.

Del Prete's group was preparing to exit the river when he disappeared near the Kingwood boat launch. That's on the New Jersey side of the river, but the rescue, and now recovery, effort has been coordinated by Point Pleasant Fire.

Most drownings here have happened when people with no, or limited, swimming skills or experiences in open waters have entered the river, to wade, swim or tube.

Fleischer said that the Del Prete tragedy has people wondering what went wrong. "Maybe he didn't quite realize where he was in the water and took a couple of big gulps of water," the chief said. "Maybe he wasn't expecting to land in the water and it caught him by surprise.

"Maybe the current spun him around. He may have hit his head, or his foot may have gotten stuck in something. With the current that day maybe he got disoriented."

Del Prete's body could be found tomorrow by volunteers, or spotted by someone else on or near the river. At this time of year on the river, Fleischer said, a victim's body may float to the surface after 4-5 days.

However, it could be caught by a rock or submerged limb, which is why a search by divers, including those from the fire company and Garden State Underwater Recover, is scheduled for Sunday, starting at 8 a.m. from Point Pleasant.

Fleischer said that his company normally wouldn't take part in a recovery at this point, but the volunteers "certainly feel for his mother" and the rest of Del Prete's family and friends. "We'd like to get them some type of closure. It's a tough place for the family."